GUELPH POLITICAST #296 – Still COVID with Dr. Mercer (Fall Edition)

We’re about halfway through fall, we’ve overcome the big hurdles like Back to School and Thanksgiving, and the new daily case count both in Guelph and across Ontario remains relatively steady. We’re still giving out vaccines, with a few thousand eligible people left to get their jabs, and then, a few weeks ago, we had our first case of the flu this year. What are we to make of all this? Let's call a doctor!

We’re now more than 19 months into COVID-19 pandemic, and Guelph has outpaced a lot of communities by reaching nearly 91 per cent total vaccination for eligible people, and there were less than three dozen active cases last weekend in the whole region. Pretty much all that’s left to do now is get the young kids vaccinated, which is something that may actually happen soon. Does this mean were can start putting an end date on COVID restrictions?

The future is what all anybody can think about in this surprisingly multifaceted phase of the pandemic. Most people are vaccinated, but is it enough to create herd immunity? We seem to have avoided the worst case scenario for fall, but is that luck, or is it the effectiveness of vaccinations and COVID precautions? Will we see cases shoot up again as the holidays approach like they did last year? And what about the kids? How quick can we start getting them vaccinated?

These questions require medical expertise, so let’s bring on Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer! She will talk about the plan for getting kids vaccinated, and how quickly that might happen once those vaccines are approved. We will also talk about the lessons learned this fall, and what precautions people should be taking as we look to the Christmas and holiday season. And finally, we talk about what to expect from the coming flu season, and why getting back to normal is more complicated than we think. 

So let's talk about how we're still COVID, for a while anyway, on this week’s Guelph Politicast!

If you’re listening to this on Wednesday November 3, there is a Board of Health meeting later today. For all things COVID-19, including the pending announcement about vaccines for children under 12, or to learn more about when and how you can get a flu shot, go to the Public Health website, or you can follow them on Twitter.

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